┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ◯                                                          ◯ │
│   ╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮   │
│   │                   F E R R I C O S                    │   │
│   │         an arch-based distribution · side A          │   │
│   ╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯   │
│        (●)        ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮        (●)        │
│    Fe₂O₃ · MAGNETIC TAPE · SODIUM LIGHT · ROLLING RELEASE    │
│ ◯                ▄▄            ▄▄            ▄▄            ◯ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

FerricOS is designed & built by Cam Garrison. An Arch-based distribution with a cassette-futurism soul — magnetic tape, sodium light, and a quiet terminal.

install · build · layout · updates · palette

FerricOS is a rolling-release Arch Linux derivative built with archiso. This repository is the entire distro: the ISO recipe, the ferric-* package sources, and the build automation. Nothing lives anywhere else — clone it and you hold the whole machine.

// spec sheet

Base	Arch Linux, rolling release, AUR-compatible
Compositor	Hyprland — 1px seams, no blur, no glow
Bar / launcher / notifications	waybar · fuzzel · mako
Terminal	kitty
Boot chain	syslinux → Plymouth tape-spool splash → tuigreet, one continuous instrument-panel look
Installers	ferric-install (preseeded archinstall, terminal) · Install FerricOS (Calamares, graphical; ext4 / btrfs / LUKS)
Identity	a handful of ferric-* packages served from this repo's own pacman repo, [ferric]

// features

• Quiet Ferric desktop — Hyprland + waybar + kitty + fuzzel + mako, tuned to one palette (oxide #D85A30 on near-black #0C0B0A), 1px seams, no blur, no glow.
• Continuous boot chain — syslinux menu, Plymouth tape-spool splash, tuigreet, and desktop share the same instrument-panel look.
• Two installers — ferric-install (preseeded archinstall, terminal) and Install FerricOS (Calamares, graphical; ext4 / btrfs / LUKS).
• Real Arch underneath — pacman, AUR-compatible, rolling. The distro identity travels in a handful of ferric-* packages from this repo's own pacman repo.
• Everything reproducible — this repo builds the ISO and every package, locally or in CI.

// installing

1. Grab the latest ISO from Releases and verify it against SHA256SUMS.
2. Write it to a USB stick:

   sudo dd if=ferricos-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

   (Or just drop the ISO onto a Ventoy stick.)

Important

Disable Secure Boot — it is not yet supported.

3. Boot the stick (BIOS or UEFI). The live session logs straight into Hyprland as the ferric user.
4. Install with either:
   • Install FerricOS (app launcher → Calamares), or
   • ferric-install in a terminal (archinstall, preseeded with the FerricOS set).

// building

On an up-to-date Arch system with archiso, base-devel, qemu-full, and edk2-ovmf:

./scripts/build-packages-local.sh   # build ferric-* into ./local-repo and wire [ferric]
./scripts/build-iso.sh              # ISO lands in ./out/
./scripts/test-bios.sh              # boot it in QEMU (BIOS)
./scripts/test-uefi.sh              # boot it in QEMU (UEFI)

The build pulls the latest packages from the Arch mirrors at build time — the recipe is evergreen, the ISO is a snapshot.

// repository layout

ferricos/
├── profile/            # archiso profile — the ISO recipe (based on releng)
│   ├── airootfs/       # LIVE-SESSION-ONLY overlay (never reaches installs)
│   ├── packages.x86_64 # every package on the ISO, one per line
│   ├── profiledef.sh   # ISO identity + build settings
│   └── grub/ efiboot/ syslinux/   # boot menus
├── pkgbuilds/          # sources for ferric-* packages + calamares
├── scripts/            # build, test, and publish helpers
└── .github/workflows/  # package publishing + monthly ISO builds

// how updates flow

installed system ──── pacman -Syu ────────────────► Arch official repos
                └──── pacman -Syu ────────────────► [ferric] repo
                                                        ▲
push to pkgbuilds/** ──► CI ──► repo-add ──► fixed `packages` release

monthly timer ──► CI ──► archiso ──► versioned ISO release ──► new installs only

• Installed systems track Arch's official repos directly via pacman -Syu — kernel, desktop, everything.
• FerricOS-specific packages (ferric-base, ferric-skel, ferric-artwork, …) ship from this repo's fixed packages release, which is a real pacman repo ([ferric]). Pushing to pkgbuilds/** republishes it via CI.
• ISOs are rebuilt monthly by CI and published under versioned releases. An ISO is only a delivery vehicle for new installs — existing systems never need to reinstall.

// palette

Every surface — boot menu, splash, greeter, desktop — draws from one ferrous swatch card:

// credits

Built on Arch Linux and archiso. Installer flow modeled on EndeavourOS's Calamares setup. FerricOS is an independent personal project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Arch Linux.

All code and design are by Cam Garrison.

Note

Forks must rename: "FerricOS", the wordmark, and the artwork identify this project — derivative distros should ship their own name and branding.

// license

GPL-3.0-or-later. The profile/ directory is derived from archiso's releng configuration (GPL-3.0-or-later); FerricOS additions are released under the same terms.

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